Kopaihorod, Ukraine

Coordinates: 48°52' N, 27°47' E
Alternate Names: Kopaihorod [Ukr], Kopaygorod [Rus], Kopaigorod [Yid], Copaigorod [Rom], Kopajgród [Pol], Kopajgorod, Kopayhorod, Kopai Gorod, Koprod, Kipared

Kopaigorod means to "dig a town." Around 375 years ago when the town was created, dirt was dug up around the town to create walls to protect it from invasion and thus the name became "to dig a town". (paraphrased from Ian Edelstein)

Coat of Arms

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In this website you will see the town spelled in several ways. The accepted modern Ukrainian spelling is: Kopaihorod. In Russian it is: Kopaigorod. You will also see the variations Kopaygorod and Copaygorod.

New Book!

The Jewish Shtetl of My Life, by Mikhail Kupershtein, memories of Kopaihorod, now available for purchase through JewishGen, or via a free PDF download; photos, 458 pages, color images. More information here!

Plan of the town, from the book, page 262

How to pronounce Kopaihorod

Modern Ukrainian: Копайгород play
Modern Russian: Копайгород play

Kopaihorod is a small village in southwest Ukraine, in the Oblast of Vinnitsia and the Raion of Zhmerynka, 41 miles southwest of Vinnitsya and 15 miles SE of Bar. It is in the historical region of Podolia (not an official administrative area), between the Dniester River and the Southern Bug River. There is barely a mention of Kopaihorod on Google. Although it is not included in the Wikipedia list of Shtetls of Ukraine, it does appear on maps of the 16th century.

Kopaihorod is a tiny place, with a current population of slightly over a thousand. Wikipedia tells us that it is located along the Nemiia river which is a tributary of the Dniester. The closest railway station, Kopai, is about 3 miles northwest which is on the railway line connecting Zhmerynka and Mohyliv-Podilskyi. It is also near Highway M21, which connects Vinnytsia and Mohyliv-Podilskyi. It is located in the Raion of Zhmerynka, the Oblast of Vinnytsia and the country of Ukraine. It is considered a rural settlement.

The Memorial/Yizkor book by Mikhail Kupershtyein (seen above) is now available in print and is available on Jewish Gen here.

JewishGen Communities Database Entry for Kopaihorod

This shows:

the town's name in various languages,
political jurisdictions during different time periods, and
contact information for other researchers interested in this town via the JewishGen Family Finder (JGFF).

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